Apartment Number 1026
by NaNa501
Summary: Sasuke moves in with an old friend and reunites with Team 7. Now that they're adults now, there's more to life then just fighting and training. As they live together, they change unknowingly, and feelings develop. SasukexOC
1. Chapter 1

_**CHAPTER ONE: MAKI HAYASHI **_

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"See you tomorrow Naruto!" Maki waved to the blond haired idiot who tripped over his own foot when he turned to look at her. She silently giggled and continued to walk home.

The sun was setting, and it was rather a cold day. The air was becoming dryer, seeing how it was changing from fall to winter. Maki Hayashi, a 20 year old ANBU, took in her surroundings and felt happy seeing how peaceful it was.

When she was half way there, she felt someone's chakra near her, a rather strong one too.

"Kakashi, you're so bad at sneaking around." Kakashi smirked at his student's ability to differentiate people's chakras.

"Aww, that's not nice." He hopped out of the tree and walked with Maki. Even though he was seven years older than her, he was and still is her sensei she grew up with. For some reason, the two clicked together nicely. "When you get home, I think you'll be surprised."

The girl turned her head to face the calm man. "And why do you think that?"

"Maybe you'll get to see him, maybe you won't. Just go home. If you don't see him today, you'll see him tomorrow." With that, he disappeared.

"I swear, old people these days are the weirdest…" Maki whispered and walked towards the apartment she lived in.

_'What does he mean 'you'll see him tomorrow'?'_ Without giving it much thought, she took out her key to unlock the door. But all of the sudden, Maki heard voices arguing down the hallway. Curiosity got the best of her as she tip toed her way there.

"I told you I was coming back!" Right away, Maki's brain worked to remember whose voice it was. Queitly, she walked closer to see the familiar man standing there, arguing with Miko, the women who owned all of the apartment buildings here.

"Sasuke!" Maki happily smiled when she saw her old team mate. It's been a good year since the two even seen each other. Despite his obviously angry state, he seemed a little happier when he saw her. "Miko, what's the problem?"

"This young fellow's complaining about me selling off his room when he was gone for a year! Of course I'm going to sell it, I need to make money too!" She crossed her arms and gave Sasuke a nasty glare. He gladly returned one back, forgetting his manners to the elderly.

Maki didn't know what to do, until a thought popped into her head. "Miko, don't worry about it. Sasuke can stay with me." Miko thanked her and walked away before Sasuke could complain to her again.

"Stay with you? I want my old room back!" Before Sasuke could go after Miko again, Maki grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him over to her apartment.

"You're going to drive the old lady crazy." Maki turned on the light and opened the door to an untouched room. "The apartments here have two bedrooms anyway. Just stay here until you find another place to stay."

Sasuke grumbled angrily but inspected the room anyway. "Thanks Maki." He said before closing his door. She grinned when he remembered her name.

Back when they were gennin on Kakashi's team, she and Sasuke became okay friends. Since Naruto and Sakura were too annoying for his liking, he chose to lean on Maki instead. And when the four of them went into training to become ANBUs, they drifted apart. When they were separated in the classes, they rarely got to see each other. It's been a year since the team became ANBUs, and decided to receive training from Kakashi again, starting tomorrow.

As Maki's body comfortably moved around in bed to find the perfect spot, her eyelids grew heavier and squealed with excitement when she thought about the big reunion tomorrow.

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"9:23AM?" Looking like a mess, Maki ran out of bed and without even changing, she ran towards the tree Kakashi told her Team seven would meet at. She stumbled trying to run in the snow, but luckily, didn't fall.

"Maki-Chan!" She could hear Naruto's voice yell. "Ma-…Maki-Chan, why aren't you dressed?"

"Sorry I'm late!" Maki panted once she reached them. A little pissed off, she looked up at Sasuke who didn't even look at her. He could have woken her up! Then she could have gotten dressed this morning and not look like…This!

"That is some interesting attire…" Kakashi eyed the black tank top and white short shorts she wore. It was a sight to see, especially in the beginning of winter. Everybody else was dressed in coats and long pants.

"I just got out of bed, okay?" The four chuckled, knowing Maki wasn't much of a morning person.

"It's nice to see you four again." Kakashi said to Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and Maki. He looked at each individual, and saw a new flame burning in their eyes. He could see the passion and determination that grew as they became older.

"Kakashi sensei, you're a Sage now!" Naruto exclaimed and jumped up and down in excitement.

"Shut up you idiot!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, just like she did years ago.

"Still the same…" Kakashi mumbled and looked over to Maki. "Were you surprised yesterday?" She looked up and blinked in confusion before getting what he meant.

"Oh yeah, really surprised." She looked over to Sasuke. "We're living together now."

"WHAT?" Sakura immediately let go of Naruto's neck and yelled at Maki. "Are you kidding?" Maki sighed, seeing how she hasn't changed over the year.

"Why would I be kidding?" It always amused her how angry Sakura got about these kinds of things. What was the big deal anyway?

"You? Living with Sasuke?" She almost fainted. "Wait till the other girls hear about this, you'll be dead meat!"

"I can't believe you haven't changed over the years…" Maki cringed. "He's not even that interesting."

"Hey!" Sasuke defended his self. "I'm more interesting then you are."

"Right…" She decided to stop arguing. When everybody stopped talking, Kakashi spoke up.

"So what are your dreams now?" He asked all of them.

"TO BECOME HOKAGE!" Naruto said with that goofy smile.

"Of course." Kakashi cut him off before he could go on and on about him becoming Hokage. "Next."

"I want to become just like Tsunade." Sakura said, being serious. "She's my role model now."

"Ah, I heard she's training you every now and then. You're also a medical ninja now?" Kakashi asked Sakura who proudly nodded.

"Sakura-Chan, I'm so proud of you!" Naruto shrieked, but Sakura just pouted since Naruto wasn't the person she wanted praise from. The black haired man only stared off into the distant, obviously not interested.

"And you Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"I want to become a Sage like you sensei." He said calmly. "Maybe even Hokage."

"What? That's my dream!" Naruto fumed.

"And you, Maki?"

"Me?" She pondered. Sure she was good at fighting, but that's not what she really wanted to do. "I just want to get settled down."

The four looked at her weirdly. "Settled…Down?" Kakashi cautiously asked.

"Like married?" Maki said, wondering why they were so confused.

"You're 20…" Sakura said like she didn't know.

"I know Pinky. What I mean is, I want to find love rather than fight."

"You fight for love." Kakashi quoted one of the lines from his perverted book. The four shivered at his corny quote.

"That really makes me want to barf…" Naruto whispered to his self.

"Well, I can't guarantee I'll help you guys achieve those dreams. But I can guarantee that I'll teach you to be better ninjas." Kakashi got up and walked over to a tree. He leaned his body against it and…

Pulled out his book.

"…Sensei? What are we doing today?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Hmm?" He looked up and then back down again. "Nothing, I'm too tired today."

"You!" Maki scoffed. "You made me run all the way over here looking like this!"

"Well you should invest in an alarm clock." Kakashi said quietly and turned a page in his book. "And it's pretty amusing."

Before she could blow up on Kakashi, Naruto clapped happily. "Come on guys, let's go get ramen then!" The four stood up and walked towards the ramen stand. Over the years, they learned that Naruto would always want to get ramen after training. They got sick of walking, so they moved their meeting spot closer to the ramen stand.

"You're still obsessed?" Sakura scolded him like she was his mom.

"Come on Sakura, don't be so harsh on him!" Maki pushed her away from Naruto. Usually, when Sakura would threaten Naruto, Maki defended him like Sakura would defend Sasuke. The two girls just naturally took sides.

"And what's with you? You think you can just live with Sasuke? You're not even a fan of him!" Sakura brought up the 'big' issue again.

"Oh, well sorry! Next time I'll leave him rotting away in the streets!" Maki yelled back at the pink haired girl.

"Guys, don't argue." Sasuke said and sat down on the stool. He ordered for everybody when he saw the girls continuing to argue. Whenever the team was together, Sakura and Maki would always end up arguing, just like Naruto and Sasuke did.

"Did you forget to get dressed?" Everybody stopped arguing when they heard someone walk into the conversation. "It's almost like you're half naked…Yummy." Kiba always hit on Maki since grade school, so she was used to it. Kiba still had that spiky brown hair that framed his face nicely and his body became more built over the years of training.

"Back off Kiba, I'm not in a good mood." She sat down next to Sasuke who chuckled.

"Just eat." He told her when the owner served them ramen.

Maki grumbled but ate quietly. When she looked up to Kiba, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, she remembered how everybody grew up together. It felt just like yesterday everybody was just entering the Chunnin exams. A smile formed on her mouth as memories paraded in her brain.


	2. Chapter 2

**_CHAPTER TWO: SPIDER_**

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Maki started to play with her fingers and laid on the couch. "Hey, make me some food…" As if on cue, her stomach grumbled loudly. She groaned as she grew to become more and more famished.

"We just had ramen like a hour ago…" Sasuke replied and frowned when he saw her taking up the whole couch. "Wow, very classy and ladylike Maki."

"Oh shut up." Maki sat up and opened her phone. "Since you're so boring, I'm calling Naruto." Naruto, the one person that could aggravate Sasuke enough to make him want to bury his head into the ground.

"Naruto?" Sasuke exclaimed and snatched the phone out of your hand. "No way, anyone but Naruto!"

"Awww, he's your team mate!" Maki smiled when saw saw the rarely panicked Sasuke shaking his head in disapproval like his life depended on it. "You two are best friends!"

"I just don't want to hear people talk right now." Sasuke sighed as he collapsed on the couch. He didn't say anything, since he didn't want to seem weak or vulnerable, but he has been feeling faint ever since he got home. It was probably the sudden change in weather that was causing this on his body. He was gone for a year because he had a mission in the Sand village, where it's always hot. The sudden temperature change must be hard on his body.

"Hey…" When he just bent his head back, Maki moved closer. "You okay?"

Sasuke didn't respond, and she just sat there, pouting. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Don't ignore me!"

At that, he bent over and rested his head in his hands. Maki was taken a bit back at this action, and suddenly felt guilty. "Hey…Sorry, I won't call him. So get up!" Seeing him like this made her puzzled. Was this the same calm and collected Uchiha she knew?

"It's not that." He groaned. "I think I'm sick…"

As sneaky as Maki could, she slowly moved herself away from Sasuke. Maki froze when she saw him smirk. "I know you're a germaphobe…"

"I can't help it! What good does it do if we're both sick?" She exclaimed and pulled on his arm. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"God, I feel like a five year old again..." Maki giggled at his shyness and tucked him into bed. Color crept onto Sasuke's face, and you knew it wasn't from his cold. "Maki, we're not speaking of this to anyone." He said coldly without even looking at you.

"Yeah, yeah, just try to get better." After Maki closed the door behind her, she hurried to the kitchen to make soup. "Now, where's that cook book…" When she found the cook book, she opened it to the soup section. Her bright eyes scanned the pages carefully.

"Carrots…Potatoes…Ginsengs are good to eat when you're sick…What a helpful cook book!" She happily ran over to the refrigerator and took out the ingredients needed.

Cooking like this felt like a dream. Maki always imagined cooking for her husband when she gets married, and this was good practice for the future. _'Sasuke? As my husband?'_ Maki thought to herself and shivered. "No way in hell."

Even though it hurt Maki's pride to say it, she couldn't cover up the fact that she sucked at cooking. Even though she tried so hard and followed the directions, something would go wrong. "I hope I don't poison him…" She whispered and placed the potatoes into the soup.

About an hour passed, and the dish was finally done. "Yay!" Maki poured the soup into the bowl and stirred it. She took the tray of food over to Sasuke's room and placed it on the table.

"And what, dare I ask, is that?" Sasuke's voice cracked. Maki fought the urge to smack him across the face.

Instead, she shot him dagger with her eyes. "You're so lucky you're sick…Come on, eat! You're not going to get better by just laying around!"

"I think I have a better chance of getting better if I avoid eating that…" He stirred the mysterious soup with his spoon. "Ginseng?"

"Yeah!" Maki clapped her hands together. "It's good for your health!"

"You should have grated it or something…" He picked a big chunk out and stared in awe. "Do you know how bitter these things are to eat as a whole?" Maki always hated it when Sasuke acted like he was so much smarter than her.

"Just eat!" Maki raised her voice. He looked around nervously and decided to eat, hoping to get better sooner. As he held his spoon up to his mouth, she jumped in excitement.

He finally placed the spoon in his mouth, and right away, he coughed and struggled to swallow. "What the hell is this?"

"It's soup!" Maki crossed her arms. "How bad could it be?"

He held up his spoon towards her. "You tell me." She was about to try some but saw how disgusting the soup looked.

"…Scratch that, just eat the ginseng."

He scoffed at her obliviousness. "You must really not know how revolting it is to eat one."

Maki held his nose and forced the ginseng into his mouth. "Chew!" Unexpectedly, he did as he was told and swallowed after chewing. "It's so bitter!"

"Yeah, yeah, you won't be complaining when you're better tomorrow." Maki took the tray and walked out of the room. When she smelled the soup, she almost gagged. "Wow, I really do suck at cooking…" She poured the soup into the sink and sighed.

Maki planned to bother Sasuke all day, but since he was sick, her plans were ruined.

All of the sudden, she heard Sasuke screaming. As Maki ran over to his room, she saw him sprint out. "Maki! Get that little shit out of there!" Her instincts kicked in, and prepared herself for the worst.

"What little shit?" She walked over and inspected the room carefully when nothing came out. "I don't see anything!"

"The spider you retard!" When Sasuke answered Maki, she just stood there dumbfounded. She slowly turned her head over to Sasuke and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"…You're scared of spiders?"

"You're not?" He shrieked and ran over to stand on the couch. "There could be spiders coming after me right this second!" For a split second, Maki thought she was hallucinating. Here Sasuke was, the strong and all mighty Uchiha, whining like a little girl because he's afraid a spider will come near him.

"Sasuke, you are such a girl." Maki gathered up her courage to walk into the room. Truth be told, she was scared shitless whenever she saw a spider in her bathroom. Her palms got sweaty as she looked around the room and saw the big spider crawling towards her. "HOLY SHIT!"

Without killing it first, she ran over to the couch and stood on top of it with Sasuke. "Sasuke, go kill it!"

"I thought you weren't scared of them!" Sasuke held onto her shoulders and pushed her. "Go kill it!"

"Let go of me!" Maki threw his hands off of her and noticed how close they were standing. "Would you get away from me? Back off!"

"I was here first!" He defended his self and pointed to the spider. "THERE IT IS!"

"What do we do?" It kept crawling closer to the couch. "It's coming closer!"

"Kill it with this!" Sasuke grabbed one of the cushions and shoved it in Maki's arms. "No way, it's brand new!" But when she saw how close the spider was, she panicked and threw it without thinking.

"Your aim sucks!" Sasuke punched her lightly on the back.

"Your manners suck." Childishly, she threw Sasuke off the couch and laughed as she saw him scrambling off the floor to run away.

"Alright, that's it! I'm sick of you!" Sasuke grabbed a dictionary and threw it on top of the spider. "Ah hah! It's dead!"

"Victory!" Maki high fived Sasuke who was genuinely smiling. As she saw his mouth full of pearly whites, she felt your cheeks get hot. 'His smile is perfect…' Maybe this was why Sakura was so obsessed with him. But then again, his smiles were rare.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Maki said and grinned. He looked over, still smiling. "You should smile more!"  
He blinked in confusion, and frowned. "You're a freak…"

"Oh come on! You're so cute when you smile!" Using her fingers, she pushed the corners of his mouth up to make him smile. "Look at that smile!"

"Don't touch me!" He struggled to get her hands away from his face. Maki giggled at how easily Sasuke got embarrassed.

"Look! You learned how to smile while living with me! How lucky are you?" She pinched his cheek as he stared at her, irritated. "Go back to bed now!" Maki pushed him in his room and he stopped the door from closing with his hand. She looked up to see his lips curving up slowly. "Thanks Maki."


	3. Chapter 3

**_CHAPTER THREE: INTOXICATED_**

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While Maki pulled on a pair of skinny jeans, she happily giggled and couldn't wait for her date. Her boyfriend Hatori called earlier and told her to meet him at a cafe they always go to together. The two have been dating for almost a year, and Maki knew that he could maybe be the one to stay with her forever.

Suddenly, the ecstatic girl heard a knock on the door. She froze and squeaked out, "Hello?" and finished pulling her pants up.

"You okay?" Maki sighed in relief when she realized it was Sasuke.

Maki opened the door and walked out. "Yes, I'm fine!"

"It sounded like you were _too_ happy..." Sasuke mumbled. He seemed to be better from his sickness now. He kept denying it, but Maki knew that eating the ginseng helped! Or maybe it was that one spoonful of soup she made! Either way, she helped the Uchiha get better, whether he likes it or not.

"I'm just happy! I'm going out with my boyfriend today!" As she pulled on her boots, she smiled at the thought of seeing him. "He's been gone for a long time, he said something about a mission he was sent on."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, we met after you left for your mission. I'm so...Ah!" Her face could have ripped if she smiled any harder. "You'll have to meet him soon!"

"I guess I will. Props to him for dealing with you." He teased but Maki was too delighted to be brought down.

"Wait up for me, I need someone to tell everything to!" Before he could say no, Maki rushed out of the house and walked to the cafe.

Once you got there, she looked around but didn't see him anywhere. Maki figured he was running late and grabbed seats for Hatori and herself. While she waited, Maki looked out the window and smiled at seeing the snow fall. It was snowing on the day Hatori and her went on their first date too!

"Maki right?" Maki turned to see Ino smiling at her.

"Uh, yeah." They weren't good friends, but the two met before. "Ino?"

"Yeah, it's nice to know you remember me." For some reason, Maki could hear a bit of sarcasm in her voice. She invited herself into Hatori's seat and made herself comfortable. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"He's not-..." Maki looked up when she realized what the blond girl said. "How do you know I'm meeting my boyfriend here?"

Ino smiled devilishly and leaned towards Maki. "I was there when the text message was sent."

"What do you mean?"

"He's not coming." She ignored Maki's question and ordered some pasta. "So I'm filling in for him."

"What do you mean he's not coming?" Maki tried to see whether or not she was lying. "Do you even know him?" Anger slowly built up in her body and wondered what kind of a relationship she has with Hatori.

"Of course I know Hatori!" Once her pasta was ready, she dug in. "Trust me, I know him much better then you. Order something!" Before Maki could lash out on her, Ino threw the menu into her lap. Not wanting trouble, she just went along with it and ordered chicken salad.

"So have you been out with Hatori lately?" She asked. Maki thought she was kind of rude, asking about personal things like this.

"No, he was on a mission for the past two months. I don't see why he couldn't make it today..." She poked the salad with your fork. Maki still didn't accept the fact that he wasn't going to be here today, she was just patiently waiting for Ino to tell her the truth.

"Maybe he didn't go on a mission." Ino licked her lips and looked up. "Maybe he told you that just because?"

"Just because of what?" By now, she was beyond suspicious. Maki knew something was going on, and she wanted to know right away.

"It's time you know the truth Maki." Ino put down her fork and looked through her purse for something. Maki tried to take a peek at what she was looking for."Here." She took out some pictures and spread them on the table. "I know it's hard to believe, but Hatori's cheating on you." She sighed genuinely this time.

Maki completely ignored what she said and stared at the pictures in disgust. They took pictures everywhere, and they seemed to be acting like a couple. "Wait...Cheating on me?" She picked up a photo of Hatori not with Ino, or her, but with another girl that Maki couldn't recognize.

"Honestly, I didn't know he had a girlfriend." She looked down, almost too embarrassed to look at Maki in the eye. "And it wasn't Hatori who texted you, it was me. I did it because I found out you two were going out."

"No." Maki shook her head and refused to believe it. "You're lying." Deep inside, Maki felt like she were lying to herself.

"Trust me, I wish I was lying." Ino played with the left over pasta on her plate. "He wasn't on a mission, he was visiting his girlfriend in the Rain village. That's where he met me. I was actually on a mission there and he seemed interested in me so I just..."

"Why..." The reality didn't hit Maki fully. "He really did that? Why? Why is he doing this?" She screamed and Ino covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

"I don't know either, I wish I knew..." She continued to cry and placed the money for her meal on the table. "I'm so sorry you had to find out this way."

Tears threatened to fall out of Maki's eyes. She got up and ran out of the cafe, pledging to never walk into the cafe ever again. The sun set by now, and the snow was falling hard. An hour ago, she was smiling ear to ear about seeing this man, and now, Maki wanted to rip him to shreds. She painfully walked home, suffering from the fresh scars he left on her heart. The wind stung her face and fresh, new tears kept rolling down the heartbroken woman's face.

"I fucking hate you..." Maki muttered to herself and walked into the apartment building. She whimpered at the thought of his face when he's smiling. That smile that made her so happy. The smile she looked forward to seeing today, but never got to.

Forgetting all about Sasuke, Maki unlocked the door and dragged her feet inside. Immediately, she threw your purse at the wall with all of her strength and walked over to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of sake. She went over to the table with a shot glass and poured it slowly. After, Maki gulped it down in a one shot and took off her jacket. The tears wouldn't stop as she remembered every quality and memory of Hatori. "Son of a bitch..."

"Hey, you're back. How did-" Sasuke walked out of the bathroom and stopped when he saw the condition she was in. "Whoa, what happened?"

But Maki didn't answer, in fear of completely breaking down. She continued to drink and threw her legs onto the table. "Who needs men anyway?" Maki drank the whole bottle and looked over to Sasuke. "Hey, one more bottle for the lady..."

Sasuke hesitated, but got her a bottle anyway. He poured it for Maki and she pulled away to drink before he even finished. "Now tell me what's wrong."

"Why do you need to know anyway?" Maki slurred and swung her hands around. "You men are just...Just pigs...No good pigs that should just..." She was too woozy to even complete her sentence and kept drinking.

"Did something happen with your boyfriend?" Her whole body froze when he mentioned him. Soon, her shoulders were shaking and rivers fell from Maki's eyes. Sasuke sat down next to the crying woman and her head fell onto his shoulder. He would have pushed her head away, but that seemed like the wrong thing to do in this situation.

"You're right, props to him for dealing with me. He probably got sick of dealing with me and decided to leave." Maki hiccupped as she cried and drank at the same time. "Got sick of me...Sick..."

"Hey, you're not that bad." Sasuke pushed her hair back from her face. Feeling his hands on Maki's face reminded her of Hatori, and how he would always push her hair back for her.

"I'm bad...Bad woman..." Clearly, she was heavily intoxicated. "Because I'm a bad woman...Sorry..."

"You're not a bad woman, stop saying that." He held the side of Maki's cheeks and faced her towards him. "You're great, he just couldn't realize it."

Maki's vision blurred, and suddenly, Sasuke turned into Hatori, at least in her eyes he did. "Hatori..." She leaned forward, and passed out after their lips met.

On the other hand, Sasuke was freaking out for two reasons. One, Maki passed out. And two, she just kissed him! "Shit!" He held his hands over his mouth. _'She's going to kill me when she finds out!' _

He started to panic and stopped. "Wait, she can't blame me, this is her fault! She doesn't have to know anyway! It's not like she'll remember…" He tried to relax, and carried her body over to her bed. As he tucked Maki in, he caught a glimpse of her cherry red lips. "Calm down Sasuke..." He told his self and walked out of Maki's room.


	4. Chapter 4

_**CHAPTER FOUR: GOOD TEAM**_

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"Oh my god…" Maki groaned as her head throbbed. It felt like someone was taking a hammer and repeatedly hitting her inside her brain! "What the hell happened last night?" But unwanted memories flooded her brain and caused her to curse at herself.

Being hung over _and_ losing a boyfriend. What's next, she has to cut off her own leg?

While she mentally killed Hatori in her head, there was a light knock on her door. "Uhm…Maki? We kind of have to go. If you want, I'll tell Kakashi-"

"It's fine, I'll be out in a minute." Maki got out of bed and started to change into her ANBU uniform. Blankly, she stared at the wall and fought the urge to slam her head into it, in hope to get rid of her head ache. After she finished getting dressed, she opened the door to see a tired looking Sasuke playing with his fingers. "Why do you look so nervous?"

He jumped a little at the sound of her voice. "Nothing! Who's nervous?" Awkwardly, his lips pulled up into a crooked smile and Maki scoffed.

"You suck at lying Sasuke." It sounded bitterer then she wanted it to be, but she didn't care right now. Sasuke didn't say anything back, knowing Maki wasn't exactly in the mood these days.

They both walked towards the training grounds and Sasuke couldn't stop stealing glances at her. _'Does she remember?' _He bit his lip when he thought about how much angrier she would be if she did know what happened last night. _'She would probably behead me with her own hands…'_

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Maki asked without even looking over. It was obvious he was looking at her every two seconds, and he looked shaken too.

"I'm not!" Sasuke said the best he could without letting his voice shake.

"But you are." Maki plainly said.

"I'm just…Worried, that's all." Well, at least it wasn't a lie. Sure that wasn't the reason, but he really was worried about her. He's never seen her so down before. Maki would get mad and take out her frustrations by beating up a tree, but she never got depressed like this.

"Well don't be. They're my problems anyway." She walked ahead of him to greet the others who were waiting for them. Sasuke sighed, knowing Maki could be a little distant when she's upset. He made it look like nothing happened and walked over to the team.

"You having fun with Sasuke Maki?" Sakura sneered at Maki who didn't even bother to turn her head towards her. "Hey! I'm talking to you." But Maki walked over to Kakashi.

"Let's start." She said and Kakashi looked at her, raising an eyebrow. He knew something was wrong with her today. As he eyed his students, he stopped at Sasuke who looked over to Maki nervously. _'Something obviously happened between the two…'_

"Alright, we'll be sparring today, and then we have a mission to go to tomorrow." Kakashi announced and Naruto cheered.

"Whooo, a mission! It's been a long time since we've been on one all together!"

"When do we leave for the mission tomorrow?" Sakura asked and Kakashi smiled.

"Three in the morning."

"Three in the morning?" Naruto groaned. "I never wake up before nine…"

"So we're sparring?" Sasuke asked Kakashi who nodded.

"Yup. All of you against me. Remember that test with the bells?" Kakashi took two bells out of his pocket. "The two who don't get one of these has to run around the village five times in total before going home. Let me warn you, this time it'll be more intense then it was years ago." He backed away from the four students. "You really have to want to kill me."

"Five times? But we need all the rest we can get!" Naruto whined.

"And you guys will be split into teams." Kakashi ignored Naruto. "Maki, Sakura, you two are together. Sasuke, you're with Naruto."

"What?" Naruto and Sasuke said at the same time and glared at each other.

Sakura just kicked at the ground in frustration as Maki held herself back from saying anything.

"Start already!" Naruto whined.

"Alright…" Kakashi took out his book and all the students smirked. "Go."

The four of them hid their selves immediately and Sakura elbowed you. "What's the plan?"

"We'll go in and rip Kakashi apart." Maki said without any emotion in her voice.

Sakura was taken a bit back at Maki's bluntness. "Hey, you okay?"

But Maki didn't reply. She didn't know why she was so upset. Actually, she did know, but she didn't realize it would affect her this much.

"Maki." The two girls looked over to Sasuke who walked over and bent down in front of Maki who was sitting on the ground. "At least act like things are okay. You're scaring the shit out of me." He said softly.

Maki and Sakura were both a bit surprised at Sasuke's concern.

"And that guy you were talking about," Sasuke stood up. "I saw him walking around on the streets last night, so I took care of him. He's probably in the hospital now." He smirked before leaving to find Naruto.

Maki's jaw slowly dropped in shock and wondered what Sasuke meant. _'Did he beat him up last night?'_

Sasuke jumped from tree to tree to find Naruto. "There you are."

"Where were you?" Naruto yelled. He was about to continue but a wound on Sasuke's leg caught his attention. "Hey, you got hurt already?"

Sasuke looked down at the scar on his leg and scoffed. It was from last night.

_After putting Maki to bed, he went out to find out more about Maki's boyfriend. He remembered her murmuring the name 'Hatori' right before she passed out. Right as he turned the corner of the street, he heard flirtatious giggles coming closer. He looked up to see a guy with his arms wrapped around a girl's waist. _

"_Hatori, you're such a sweetheart!" She giggled and snuggled closer to Hatori._

_Sasuke clenched his fist when he heard that name._

"_Ino and…What's that other girl's name? Mika? Well, whatever, they have nothing on you baby." Hatori kissed the girl and obviously didn't notice Sasuke walking over. _

_Once Sasuke got there, he pulled the girl away and punched Hatori square in the jaw. "What the fuck man?"_

"_Her name's Maki." He pulled his knee up to Hatori's stomach. Hatori gasped for air and tried to punch Sasuke but he dodged it. Hatori managed to take a knife out of his pocket and graze Sasuke's leg._

"_What are you, Maki's boyfriend now?" Hatori wiped away the blood from his mouth. _

_Sasuke didn't answer the question and threw Hatori's body against the side of the building. He was unconsciousness now, and Sasuke walked home knowing his job was done. _

_So why did he do it? Maki was probably Sasuke's closest friend, right next to Naruto. She never bothered him much, and he owed her a couple of favors. Over the years, she became like a little sister to him, and it bothered him that she was so upset over that piece of trash. _

"…suke? Sasuke!" Naruto snapped him out of his memory.

"Oh, sorry." Sasuke mumbled and peeked at the fight between Sakura, Maki, and Kakashi. "Hey, they're already fighting."

"What? We have to get in there!" Naruto exclaimed and ran down to the fight.

Meanwhile, while Sasuke was thinking about what happened last night, Sakura and Maki already went down to face Kakashi after discussing the plan. Maki didn't feel horrible anymore, and decided to take her anger out on Kakashi.

"I would expect Naruto to be the first one to come." He said and put his book away. "I probably shouldn't underestimate you guys."

"_Girls_." Sakura pulled her glove on and wrapped her arm around Maki's shoulder. "We might not like each other, but we can team up if it means kicking sensei's ass."

"Ouch, that was mean." Kakashi teased and Maki didn't wait. She already started to bend the water from the river. "Picked the wrong place to do this didn't I?" Kakashi said, causing Maki to smirk and drown the whole battlefield with water.

"Maki, just so you know, I can't swim." Sakura joked and Maki started to freeze the water around Kakashi's feet. He jumped just in time to get away but the ice shot up, taking him by surprise. Kakashi managed to dodge it and ran towards Maki. Sakura stood in front of Maki and fought him off while Maki made a bunch of hand signs.

"Water style, Hidora jutsu!" A three headed dragon soared out of the river and flew over to Kakashi at an amazing speed. He jumped away, but Sakura ran over and kicked him over. It was a success, but the girls saw it was only a clone.

"Damn it!" Maki and Sakura cursed and looked around for the real Kakashi.

Suddenly, he appeared behind Maki and kicked her forcefully. Sure Maki was excelled in ninjutsu, but she was completely useless when it came to taijutsu. Kakashi knew every single one of their weaknesses and strengths.

"Kakashi you asshole!" Maki yelled as she picked herself up. "Sakura, you ready?"

Sakura nodded and started to throw punches and kicks at Kakashi. He dodged them all and peeked over to Maki who started to make a bunch of hand signs. He couldn't recognize what Maki was trying to do but he didn't care at the moment. Being punched by Sakura could mean permanent damage to his face!

"Now!" Maki yelled and Sakura punched the ground as hard as she could and jumped away. The land beneath Kakashi eroded and he covered his eyes with his hands. As he looked up from the big hole, he saw a wave of water crashing in. It immediately froze, and he mentally sighed at how careless he was.

"Hah!" He heard the girls say as they walked over to look down. "Cold Kakashi?" Maki stuck her tongue out.

"Promise to hand over the bells and we'll let you go." Sakura ice skated around happily.

"Okay, okay, I promise." He managed to mumble. "Get me out, it's freezing!"

Maki and Sakura stepped off of the ice and Maki unfroze the water with a fire jutsu. Kakashi surfaced to the top of the water and threw the bells over to the girls sourly.

"Don't be a sore loser." Maki caught the bell and giggled.

"Since when do you know how to control fire?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"Since I was 19." Maki replied and smiled. "Since when do _you_ know how to punch so hard?"

The two of them laughed together, a sight that's very rare to see. "Trust me, you seriously good. I practice taijutsu so hard but I still suck. They hesitated to make me an ANBU when they saw how weak I was." Maki sighed.

"I guess we make a good team then." Sakura looked over to Maki, smiling. "I suck at ninjutsu, I can only heal, but that's about it."

"You know Sakura," Maki patted Sakura on the back. "You're okay."

"You too Maki." She grinned and they both high fived each other.

"Sasuke, Naruto!" Kakashi called out. "It's time for you guys to run your laps!" Just then Naruto tripped and rolled down the hill.

"What? They won?" Naruto screamed as he laid on the floor in pain. Sasuke jumped down from the tree and stared at the battlefield in awe.

"What did you guys do, swim?" Sakura and Maki giggled at the shocked look on Sasuke's face.

"Well, we're going to go home and pack for the mission." The two girls waved at the boys who frowned. "Have fun running!"

"Gah!" Naruto screamed out in annoyance. "Five laps? Really?"

"You should start now if you want to get home before sun sets." Kakashi took out his book and walked home. "Don't try to get out of this one, I'll know if you guys cheat."

The two boys dragged their feet as they ran five laps around Konoha, wondering how and when the two girls got so strong.


	5. Chapter 5

_**CHAPTER FIVE: RAIN VILLAGE**_

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"Are we almost there?" Naruto asked for the fifth time. Team seven has been running from tree to tree for about an hour now, and Naruto was getting impatient.

"We're here." Kakashi said and the whole team walked over to the entrance.

"I'm guessing you guys are the ANBUs Tsunade sent." The Kage of the village seemed to be waiting for them to greet them personally. "I'm very thankful to have you guys here."

They all bowed to the Kage with respect and followed him into the village. "I don't mean to be rude, but I have a ton of work to get done." He took out folded paper out of his pocket and handed it over to Kakashi. "Here is a map to find the houses you'll be staying at. Please, feel free to contact me if you need anything." With that, the Kage left.

"Kakashi sensei, what are we doing here again?" Naruto asked and they all looked at what was left over of the village. The town was in bits and pieces. It was rare to see buildings that were still intact. Rubbish could be found everywhere on the floor and men seemed to be running around everywhere to rebuild the village.

"We're here to protect and restore the village." Kakashi motioned for them to follow him as he walked over to a small tea shop. He sat down and ordered a cup of tea and some rice cakes. "Sakura, here." He handed over one of the two pieces of paper the Kage gave him.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Sakura asked, eying the map.

"Naurto, you, and I will be staying at that house." At that, Sakura crumpled up the paper and twitched in anger. "And here's yours." Kakashi slid the paper over to Sasuke and Maki. Maki snatched it first and opened it.

"Here you go sir." The waitress placed the cup and plate onto the wooden table. He whispered a 'thank you' before she left. Just as Kakashi brought up the cup to his mouth, he saw the whole team but Maki looking at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Kakashi sensei, what do you look like under that mask anyway?" Naruto asked with curiosity.

"Seriously sensei, it's been years since we've known each other!" Sakura tried to pull down his mask but he backed away before she could.

"You guys have never seen him without his mask on?" Maki exclaimed and they all shook their heads.

"Is he good looking?" Sakura leaned in with excitement. "Tell me!"

"Oh my god!" Maki leaned in two and they both gossiped like old ladies. "If Kakashi was our age, I would be all over him!" Sakura gasped as Maki giggled.

"Nuh uh!" The pink haired kinochi exclaimed and the two other guys sat closer to listen too.

"What, what? Tell us too!" Naruto whined and Sakura just shook her head.

"When did you get to see his face?" Sakura asked and Maki looked over to Kakashi who smiled lightly.

"When Kakashi took me in. He never wore his mask at home." After her parents were killed on a mission at age six, she became an orphan. When Maki turned thirteen, Kakashi took her in after he saw her at the orphanage at the Sand village. He took her back to Konoha and raised her there. They became so close that Maki would call him her own dad sometimes. They stayed as close friends when she moved out at age sixteen.

"Wow Kakashi sensei, you must be really handsome from what Maki said." Sakura clenched her hands together, hoping he really was that good looking. "Can't I have a peek?"

"What does he look like? Tell me!" Naruto's curiosity was eating him alive.

"Seriously, tell me." Sasuke nudged Maki who just smirked at him.

"Kakashi's bare face makes Sasuke look bad." Maki sang and Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke stared at her in awe.

"Isn't that pushing it?" Kakashi said as he turned around to pull down his mask and drink his tea.

"Maki," Sakura grabbed Sasuke's face and turned it towards her. "Look at him. Please tell me you take back what you just said."

"I'm being serious." Maki devilishly smiled. "Kakashi's the best looking man I know."

Sasuke scoffed as his ego was bruised. Sakura sat down, dazed and confused. "Ehhh, Sasuke's not that good looking anyway." Maki threw in the final blow.

At that, Sasuke's ego shrunk down to the size of a pea. "Maki!" Sakura lectured her on how great Sasuke really was. "He's the most amazing looking man ever! Until I get to see, with my own to eyes, Kakashi sensei's face, Sasuke's the best looking man in Konoha!" Sasuke smirked after hearing the praise.

"Whatever, I'm staying on Kakashi's side." Maki was being stubborn and looked over to Naruto. "Naruto's good looking too!"

"You think so Maki-Chan?" He posed and plastered on a big, goofy smile. "What do _you_ think Sakuka-Chan?"

"I think Maki's on crack." Naruto pouted at her response and went into a deep depression.

"Excuse me ma'am." Maki heard a small voice say next to her. She turned to see a little girl with a wide, bright smile. "Are you guys the leaf ninjas?"

Maki quietly laughed at how cute the little girl was. "That's us!"

"Yay!" She clapped her hands together and pointed to Naruto. "What's your name mister?" At the same time, she brought over a chair and sat down with them.

"Naruto, believe it!" His smile grew wider as the little girl cheered for him. "What's your name little girl?"

"Ayumi!" She said happily and looked over to Maki and Sasuke who were sitting next to each other. "What's your name?" Ayumi pointed to Maki.

"I'm Maki." She said gently.

"Then is that your boyfriend?" Ayumi pointed to Sasuke. They both immediately shook their heads and shouted "NO!" at the same time.

"Trust me, he's not a good guy." Maki said to the little girl who tilted her head.

"Oh please, don't brainwash the child." Sasuke pulled Maki back and waved at the little girl. "You can call me Sasuke."

"Sasuke!" Ayumi giggled and the whole team 'aw'ed at her cuteness.

"Why can't you girls do something cute like that?" Kakashi targeted Maki and Sakura. "All you two can do is argue and hit people." The two girls glared at their sensei who just shrugged.

"Ayumi!" A woman ran over and held her up from the chair. They assumed she was Ayumi's mother. She looked over to team seven and smiled. "Oh, you guys must be the ninjas from Konoha!"

"That's us!" Naruto put on a friendly smile.

"Well thank you for keeping Ayumi safe." She patted her child on the back. "I'm not sure which two of you specifically, but I do know two of you guys are staying at our home."

"Well we thank you in advance for letting us stay in your home." Kakashi said politely.

"Of course!" Ayumi's mother placed her child on the ground and held her hand. "We have to head home, but I would be delighted to see you guys later." They both waved before leaving.

"I think we're staying with them." Kakashi said to Naruto and Sakura.

"Why Naruto…" Sakura whispered to herself.

"Hey, isn't that guy good looking?" Some girls in the tea shop whispered to each other and team seven could hear them giggling. They pointed to Sasuke and even took pictures of him.

"They're not even quiet about it." Sakura clenched her hand into a fist. "I'll knock them out…"

"Calm down, they're not bothering anyone." Maki said and drank some of Kakashi's tea.

"But who's that girl next to him?" This caught Maki's ears and she stopped drinking. The others on team seven looked over to Maki to watch her reaction. "She's pretty…" Maki smiled at the compliment and kept drinking. "But she doesn't deserve him." She choked on her tea as Sasuke choked on air.

"What the hell did she just say?" Maki hissed in a low voice.

"We're just sitting next to each other, does that make us look like we're dating?" Sasuke cursed to his self and scooted away from Maki. He recomposed his self, going back to his 'cool and collected' state.

"Well, she's not _that_ pretty." Maki heard one of the girls say and she bit her lip. She couldn't forget about the mission just because of this brat. It was their job to keep the village safe, not pick fights with the villagers.

"She's not pretty enough for that guy." That was the last comment Maki could take. Her hands began to shake and she fought her hands from making hand signs.

"Actually, I think she's very pretty." Maki was bewildered when she heard that. At first she thought it was Sasuke, but when she looked over, she saw a man looking over at her from across the room.

He had light brown hair that framed his face just perfectly and seemed to have been sleeping on the chair a second ago. "Kaito?" The girls squealed as he smiled and walked over to their table.

'_Egotistic man number two?' _Maki rolled her eyes. But instead of him flirting around with the girls, he slammed his hand down onto the table and eyed them all. He looked over to one girl again, the same girl that didn't think Maki was '_that_ pretty'. "Kiyoko." Kaito said and leaned in. All the other girls watched Kiyoko in jealousy as he leaned closer. "Calling other girls ugly won't make you any prettier. We can clearly see that from the condition your face is in." He yawned and walked out of the tea shop.

Kiyoko scoffed and turned beet red while the other girls assured her she was pretty. Maki and Sakura couldn't contain their laughter and Naruto even joined in. When Kiyoko heard them laugh, she got up and stomped over. She looked at Sasuke and then Maki. "Something funny?"

"Awww, is your ego bruised?" Maki teased the brunette who was growing angrier by the second.

Kiyoko tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked over to Sasuke. "And who are _you_?" She flashed a smile that made Maki sick.

"_My_ boyfriend." Maki said in a stern voice and wrapped her arm around Sasuke's. Before Sasuke could fight back, she kicked him from under the table. "So back off, whore."

Kiyoko laughed evilly and bent down to be face to face with Maki. "Watch your back." That's all she said before the group of girls left with her. Maki let go of Sasuke immediately and looked over to Kakashi. "Let's make this into an assassination mission."

"Now, now Maki, don't be too mad. You're tons prettier." Kakashi said and stood up.

"Yeah, well." She said and got up too. "Are we going to find our homes now?"

"We sure are." Kakashi said. Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto left to go the other way while Sasuke and Maki walked another way. The house was surprisingly close and didn't seem to be damaged from the war. The two walked over to the door and knocked. When the door opened, Sasuke and Maki bowed first.

"Hello, we're-" Maki stopped when she looked up to see the boy from the tea shop earlier. "You!"

"Hey, you're that pretty girl Kiyoko was bashing on." Kaito pointed to Maki and looked over to Sasuke. "Is that really your boyfriend?"

"No!" Maki quickly replied and looked down at her map. "Are we at the right place?"

"If you guys are the two Konoha ninjas we're giving a room to, then yeah." Sasuke and Maki nodded and walked in. From seeing the quality and beauty of the furniture, they assumed they were wealthy.

"Well, here's your room." Kaito opened the door to reveal a nicely decorated and neat room with two futons lying on the floor. "My parents won't be home till tomorrow, so you guys can do whatever you want. I won't disturb you." He closed the door and left, leaving a very awkward feeling in the room.

"That little pervert…" Maki hissed and set up the futons. But it was really weird, she had to admit, sleeping in the same room as Sasuke. Sure she had before, but that was when the whole team was there. "Well, here." She stood up and Sasuke immediately collapsed onto the futon. "You bum, change out of your ANBU uniform before you go to sleep!"

"No." His voice muffled as he spoke into the pillow. "Take my vest off for me."

Maki stepped back in shock. "No way!"

"What's the big deal, it's only my vest!" Sasuke groaned in pain. "Those laps me and Naruto had to run yesterday were so painful. My body's starting to ache now…"

"Alright!" Maki bent down and took off his vest for him, leaving him in a sleeveless, tight, black shirt. She took off his gloves and brought the blanket over his body.

"Thanks Maki…" Sasuke whispered.

"Sasuke, can I ask you a question?" Maki asked shyly. It had been lingering in the back of her mind for the longest time, and right now was the perfect time to ask. "What did you mean when…You know, that thing you said yesterday."

Sasuke turned his head a little to peek at her through his hair. "Yesterday?"

"About Hatori…" Maki looked around the room, avoiding Sasuke's gaze.

He smirked and closed his eyes. "I just taught him a lesson, that's all." Maki was surprised to see that Sasuke might care for her more then she thinks.

"Well…Thanks Sasuke." Maki smiled and took off her vest and gloves. She crawled over to her futon and laid down. "Good night."

"Make sure you don't have a nightmare. Don't want to comfort you while you cry." Sasuke mumbled and color crept onto Maki's face.

"Oh shut up, that was once!" As Maki hid under her blankets in embarrassment as Sasuke chuckled.

"Sweet dreams Maki."


End file.
